Longitude #51

Leaders

Emergency aid disasters

Despite the noble intentions of aid organizations in the aftermath of natural disasters, their effectiveness is often negligible, if not calamitous. Nevertheless, certain valuable lessons can be learned from recent experiences.

Racing to stream

Media moguls come and go, but some, like John Malone, manage to leave the landscape utterly transformed. As is often the case, the key to success is sheer size, and Malone is bent on creating a media colossus.

France

Sarkozy is back. In an attempt to gather all the elements of France’s center-right, in opposition to both Socialists and the Front National, he has formed Les Républicains to breath new life into the post-Gaullist tradition.

Ukraine

Ukraine’s economy has been devastated by years of misrule and now war. Faced with dismemberment, Kiev’s aspiration to become a more European society is dependent on Western support. But is the West committed to helping?

Turkey

Turkey’s recent elections have shed light on what could well be a domestic sea change. Combined with the turmoil throughout its neighborhood, the country’s political future is conditioned by new levels of complexity.

Middle East

Crises in the Middle East don’t just follow one after another, they pile on top of each other. While there are no easy solutions for all the problems, half-hearted engagement is a surefire recipe for disaster.

Trade

In many respects, the ideology of globalization is the legacy of the Atlantic ideology born after the discovery of America. Today the various trade agreements that try to integrate the global economy are both manifestations of Atlanticism and signs of its demise.

Education

John Cabot University, an American accredited English-language college in Rome’s Trastevere neighborhood, is more than just a growing success. It is a reflection of the globalization of higher education.

Inside business

Increasing production would seem to be a good thing for businesses. But one of the most persistent problems, especially in mature economies, is overcapacity, which has the potential to disrupt many industries.

World money

Europe is pumping money into an economic system that is structurally ill-equipped for it. Without an understanding of economic consequences or a will to find an alternative, such actions will lead to a wider wealth gap.

Talking heads

Smart thinking

Once the symbol of how the Western lifestyle and the free market would gently conquer the world, McDonald’s golden arches are no longer a talisman against war. Globalization is no longer a value in itself.